Women charged in ill-timed theft at Target store filled with cops

Keiana Wilson, 40 of Burton, left and Dana Johnson, 18, of Flint were charged with retail fraud after police say they tried to steal $1,900 worth of electronics from a Target store in Bloomfield Township on Dec. 19, 2018 during a “Shop with a Cop” event.(Photo: Bloomfield Township police)

About 15 police officers were at the Target on Wednesday night, helping 22 disadvantaged children pick out Christmas presents for their families.

Keiana Wilson, 40, of Burton and Dana Johnson, 18, of Flint were also there.

Brown said store security officers watched on cameras as the women loaded a cart with two Apple watches, two iPads and a Nintendo gaming system. At about 7:30 p.m., they walked past the registers without paying.

They never made it to the parking lot.

"The loss prevention (officers) actually apprehended them, then they asked for police assistance," said Sylvan Lake Police Sgt. Michael Mondeau, who organized the Shop with a Cop event. "The police officers were only about 20 feet away when they tried to walk out of the store."

The women knew the store was filled with police. Brown said Johnson even approached an officer earlier in the night, complimenting him about "how generous the cops were with their time."

"It wasn't 10 minutes later that (the same officer) gets called into the loss prevention office," where the women were taken after being caught, Brown said. "She was trying to distract him."

Wilson and Johnson were arraigned in court on retail fraud charges. Brown said bond was set at $250,000 for Johnson, who has a past criminal history. Wilson's bond was set at $20,000.

Mondeau said the children who participated in Shop with a Cop were able to spend in total about $5,000 on their gifts, thanks to donations from local businesses and community members.

Police officers from Sylvan Lake, Bloomfield Township, Keego Harbor and Orchard Lake, along with some of their family members, participated in a Dec. 19, 2018 "Shop with a Cop" event at the Target on Telegraph in Bloomfield Township. During the event, two women were arrested for trying to steal $1,900 worth of electronics from the store.(Photo: Keego Harbor Police Chief John Fitzgerald)

The Keego Harbor Police Department posted a picture of the police officers and their family members who participated on Facebook. The caption included words of thanks for the people involved, and the store.

It also said:

"On a side note, there must have been a special episode of 'Dumb Criminal Minds' being filmed live as a person tried to shoplift a bunch of electronics right in front of about 10 cops. They didn't get far. DON'T TAKE WHAT IS NOT YOURS, it's a simple rule that everyone should abide by and the world would be a better place."